


After Effects

by Bravehardt, Foxglove_Fiction



Series: Effects [2]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cloak of Levitation (Marvel), Don't copy to another site, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, IronStrange, Light Bondage, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Sex Pollen, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Sick Tony Stark, Sickfic, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Unresolved Sexual Tension, mild sexual coercion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 00:36:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18021488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Bravehardt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxglove_Fiction/pseuds/Foxglove_Fiction
Summary: Failing to quarantine his own armor after assisting the two sorcerers with containing an extradimensional creature, Tony falls prey to the same ailments Stephen had previously been recovering from. Afflicted, Tony harasses the first person he sees after being exposed to the residue on his armor while modifying it, which unfortunately ends up being Happy.Stephen needs to save the poor body guard and babysit one of the most stubborn men in the universe. Easy part: Dragging Tony to the Sanctum to take his medicine. Hard part: Restraining Tony and getting him to take said medicine.Stephen Strange has his work cut out for him.





	After Effects

**Author's Note:**

> Second installment in the Effects series! We hope you guys enjoy <3

He was right dead in the middle of screwing something into a panel and _there it was._

Tony stopped his work, put his tools down and looked to his groin.

_He frowned._

He’d been making augmentations to his nano suit - while most of the nano tech required soft programming, there were certain pieces that did in fact require hardware upgrades with tool and solder.

It was unexpected, a bit of an intrusion but _hey_ \- if this was something that was going to side-track him from his work he might as well _take care of business_ and be done with it.

Tony stood up and made his way towards his room in the compound but not before grabbing a sweater and tying it around his waist. It wouldn’t be totally unexpected but it still wasn’t something the hazel-eyed engineer really wanted the people to see walking through the compound. He sighed and left the lab, pulling out his phone. So distracted he didn’t realize when he’d bumped into Happy standing outside the door waiting for him.

“Hey boss-”

“Hap!” His (fore)head of security caught him off guard. It only took him a moment before some very strange and funny feelings seemed to manifest in his mind, afflicting him quite suddenly. He then slung an arm around his personal guard.  

“Walk with me Hap, I’ve got something to talk to you about.” He started, eyeing the man up and down. He leaned into Happy’s bigger form, it was inexplicable but he was overtaken by this sudden need for physical contact with the man.

“And might I say, is that a new suit? Looking sharp today!” He continued to flatter as he lead the very confused guard down the compound hallways.

Happy’s job had been clearly almost outdated at this point, the man was more of a liason of sorts for him to handle clients. What with the Avengers within shouting distance there was no necessity for a guard. Happy’s role these days tended to be more of running errands, chauffeuring as a personal assistant did - basically everything _but_ being a bouncer.

Tony led Happy to his room and the poor guard had become even more confused.

“Boss?”

“See I have this problem - non mechanical, and I’d hoped you might be able to help me with it...You’re always so good at taking care of _everything else_...” Tony ran a finger along Happy’s shoulders and rested the palm of his hand on the larger man’s back.

He then looked down.

Happy looked down.

Happy then looked up to Tony still confused, Tony quirked an eyebrow at him suggestively.

“... Boss, perhaps-”

“-You really going to shoot me down, bud?” His free hand slipped into the fold of Happy’s blazer and he began to run his fingers impatiently over the man’s chest, soon coming up to start undoing the tie whether or not there was a definite answer to his previous question.

“Boss I really don’t think-” He started with a little push against Tony’s shoulders, he stepped back managing to break away from Tony’s body.

The engineer frowned.

“You’ll get a pay upgrade for this one, a generous one - I just need _help_ this one time… Don’t make me say it Hap, you’re a sexy beast... ” He started to move back towards Happy and the guard once again crept away.

Happy’s back hit the wall and he was beyond flustered and quite frankly uncomfortable.

This was so completely unconventional and unusual for Stark’s behavior - well maybe not entirely, but at no point in all of his time working under the multi-billionaire had he ever shown interest in Happy in this way - well, any interest at all to be quite frank.

" _Boss_ ," the man's voice was choked with an attempt to keep his wits about him in the face of his steadily increasing discomfort. Happy's hands raised in wary defensiveness as he watched Tony carefully. "This isn't like you."

Paying for sex? Not a chance - not this man. He'd never needed to pay for sex in his life. He was just _one of those people_ who had others fawning over him. Taking out of the equation quite entirely that _Happy_ was somehow the one Tony wanted right now, which made no goddamn sense as far as the chauffeur was concerned.  
  
"I can _call someone_ if you'd like? Pick them up...? _Miss Potts_ maybe? You know... someone _interested in men_...?"

“Not necessary Hap, you know it’s taken me awhile to realize just how useful you’ve been to me - finally opening my eyes.” He grabbed ahold of the other man’s tie and began to run his hands over it before using it as a tether to pull the bigger man to him while simultaneously backing him up against a wall.  
  
“Boss seriously - let me call someone.” Attempts to offer something of a substitute for his position was shot down by Tony’s very forceful antics and things were becoming less and less of a joke and much more uncomfortable for the poor loyal bodyguard.  
  
“Friday, is there something wrong with Tony?” In hopes that the A.I would come up with something he tried to put whatever pieces he could together.  
  
“There’s nothing wrong with me Hap-” Tony argued stubbornly.  
  
“It looks like there is a foreign contaminant of unknown origin. The substance within Stark’s system, partly organic with traces of magic and unknown substances inhaled through the nasal passage. Mr. Stark has recently been in contact with unknown bio-organic entities while assisting Doctor Strange and it mirrors the same symptoms the doctor had exhibited. There are traces of the contaminant still on his armor - shall I call the doctor for assistance?”  
  
“Don’t listen to her-”  
  
“Yes, call!” Happy managed to wrestle the brunette off of himself and slip away from the space he’d been backed into. The call had been patched through as Happy frantically tried to look for things to fend off Stark with.

Stephen's arrival was prompt, though ten minutes was not nearly prompt enough for Happy's frazzled and rumpled state. Eyes not daring to shift towards the weird orange light for fear of taking his eyes _off_ of Tony, who currently sat with a knee to either side of Happy's legs on the chair he'd been caged in against. It didn't stop him from commenting on the other's presence however, in a vain hope that it would be sufficient to encourage Tony to back off.  
  
" _Doctor Strange_ ! I would really appreciate if you undid whatever the hell you did to my boss."  
  
"I assure you _I_ am not responsible for Stark’s current state of mind, Mr. Hogan." Stephen sighed as he absorbed the scenario in front of him, taking a few steps towards the two of them as the cloak swished a little behind him.

"Tony, if you'd kindly let go of Mr. Hogan... we need to get those spores out of your system," He warned the engineer.

The cloak slipped from his shoulders in preparation for having to apprehend Tony.

“Stephen. Oh! Did you want to join in on the fun? Or are you here to be a _killjoy_ ?” He already had poor Happy out of his blazer at this point and was half undoing the buttons of his shirt with Happy’s hands secure around his wrists to keep him from undoing anymore.  
  
Tony was turned on, the train had left the station and there was no stopping it now. It was going down the track at full speed.  
  
“Boss - no, now go with the Doctor!” His face was completely red and it was clear he’d held out as best as he could against Tony who was straddling his waist.  
  
“There’s no spores in my system, I’m perfectly fine! I feel better than I ever have in a long time.” He grinned, face looking as if it was red from the influence of alcohol.

"According to Friday, that's not true. And based on the fact that you're very far past sexually harassing your _friend_ ... I'd have to agree with her assessment, Tony." Stephen's voice was calm and measured as his fingers twitched in their direction.  
  
The cloak took the cue, bundling itself up against Tony's back before wrapping itself firmly around him into a Stark-burrito. It lifted him, pulling away from the perturbed man in the chair. Happy took barely a moment before pulling himself out of the chair and shuffling towards the door uncomfortably.

"Is this something you can _handle_ , Doctor?"  
  
"I can get the spores out of his system without issue." Based on the look Happy gave him, that hadn't been what he meant. "The rest... well, the least I can do is take care of him after he took care of me. I imagine it'll be a good seven to ten hours after he takes his medicine that he'll be at least well enough to interact with others again."  
  
"Am I gonna--"  
  
"It's not contagious. You'll be fine."

Tony squirmed against the Cloak of Levitation; this was the last thing he expected and it was rather frustrating that he didn’t get to finish his ‘date’ with Happy.  
  
“Let me go you big red evil blanket!” Tony continued to worm around in the cloak’s grasp - it earned him a pap on the face from the cloak’s collar as he was steadily carried over to the sorcerer’s side.  
  
“Hap - do something! You’re my bodyguard and I’m being kidnapped! This is literally _your job_!” Tony pleaded as if trying to guilt trip the man.

Happy shook his head, already out the door.  
  
“Sir you will be fine.” He kept his distance from them. Tony then turned to his A.I for help.  
  
“Fri-”  
  
“I’m sorry boss but by analysis Doctor Strange is the only qualified personnel here and based on clearance levels I will need to override your demand for your best interest.”

His A.I was actually disobeying him.  
  
“Stephen you can’t do this, this is technically kidnapping!” Tony argued, though non-threateningly, finally turning his attention to the very stone-faced magus.

"Maybe," Stephen shrugged a little as he opened a portal to a guest room in the Sanctum with a slight wave to Happy. "You can have me arrested later if it pleases you. But for the meantime, you'll be coming with me. The sooner you take your medicine, the sooner you get to go home so I'd _appreciate_ it if you cooperated." Stepping through the portal he glanced at the writhing mass of cloak that followed him, and the engineer bundled within.  
  
"But I am also not _expecting_ you to cooperate, so on the off-chance this is an extended stay, this will be your room."

A large bed was tucked to one side of the room opposite a slightly smaller desk and chair. A larger reading chair was settled in the corner at the end of the bed with a table and lamp present as well as a large bookcase full of a variety of books.

The portal closed behind them and after a moment the cloak released Tony, quickly fluttering back over to Stephen's shoulders to sulk. Stephen gently stroked the fabric with a soothing coo, before summoning a teapot.

Tony had been kicking and screaming the entire time he’d been transported through the portal like some wild animal. As the portal closed behind them all it could leave was a very disappointed and still _very aroused_ Tony Stark who was deposited on the floor with a somewhat harsh thump.  
  
“Jeez, always gotta spoil everything, you didn’t need to steal me back here.” He grumbled, already starting to get to his feet and walk towards the door of the room to leave. “And just because you portaled me doesn’t mean that’s going to stop me from getting back, I can fly remember?” He narrowed his eyes challengingly at Stephen as he started stomping off towards the door with determination to return to the compound.  
  
“Thanks for the invitation but no thanks, there’s nothing wrong with me.” He retorted rather indignantly.

"Yes, my goal in life is to spoil all of your fun." Stephen returned with a pointed rolling of his eyes. "This isn't an invitation, Stark. If I _have to_ restrain you I will. I'm more than capable and I'm not even sure I'd hate doing it. So please," He gestured to the armchair, "Sit down. Have some tea. We're going to spend a few hours together, you and I."  
  
“Oh, kinky!” He mocked. “You know the invitation still stands if you wanted to join us - I’ll let you hold the leash...” He trailed off with an impish purr. “If not? Then I’m going home.” Tony pointed to the door of the bedroom making a rather extravagant scene out of this.  
  
“You see that door right there? I’m walking out of it, right now.” He huffed pointedly and began to traipse over towards the door. “I’m going back to the compound and I’m going to do a little reprogramming to a very disobedient AI and then I’m sure Happy is missing me right about now.” He hissed, still pretty damn hard.

It had been like walking through snow to get some release and he was so invested in Happy that the thought of just taking care of himself didn’t cross his mind.

Stephen frowned a little before sighing.

" _Joining_ you with Happy is not something I have any intention of doing. Especially not with you in this condition." Rich, glowing red bands wove swiftly and tightly around Tony's wrists and waist. "But I already told you, you're not going home. You're not going to do any reprogramming - Friday is perfect just the way she is. And Happy is most likely relieved by your absence at this moment."

Tony felt something warm wrap around his body. He looked down to see the peculiar glowing and inscribed reins holding - restricting him from moving any further. He irritably gave them a tug.  
  
They didn’t budge. 

Giving his own gentle tug on the bands, Stephen carefully moved towards the chair. "You're not going anywhere until you've taken your medicine."  
  
Tony gave the restraints another yank before he started to really strain against them, pulling and tugging and twisting but they neither loosened nor did Stephen’s hold on him falter. Quite the contrary he felt himself being reeled in like the catch of the day and he groaned out in protest as the damn things wouldn’t give.  
  
“Dammit Stephen let me go!” Tony hissed and he turned to look over his shoulder at the very calm and composed sorcerer. “As much as I’d be totally into having you tie me down and fuck me senseless I’m not really interested in that at the moment.” He hissed fighting against the bands.

"-Nor is Happy interested in having you do anything like that to _him_ . So we're going to have to find a middle ground, aren't we? Besides, I gave you the chance to sit down all on your own. You obstinately disagreed. You were warned. So, at this point are you going to _sit down_ or am I going to have to _make you_ sit?"  
  
Stephen's free hand gestured to the chair beside him now, waving the hand and letting the teapot pour Tony's medicine into a steaming little porcelain cup. His other hand remained in a fist that the red bands curled around, keeping Tony very much on a leash of a sorts as the man had joked, but Stephen didn't appear to be enjoying the notion of having Tony bound - or at least of having to fight him on the matter. His expression was carefully neutral.

"Because I think we both know I _can_ make you sit."

Tony was clearly in the negative on this one, but by nature he had a very defiant personality and he wasn’t about to roll over on this one - _especially with Stephen._  
  
The two of them had been butting heads since the start, and it was very unlike him to just roll over and give in on things. In a sense this was becoming less about Happy and more about their little rivalry between one another - a battle of the superior mind in a sense.  
  
And if he could only reach for the arc reactor he could summon the nanobots to him and just be out of here.  
  
He gave a very valiant - resilient tug, lurching forward and throwing his body-weight against the ribbons around his wrists. He made attempts to try and scratch them off but it was if they were stiffly holding him in place so he couldn’t even do that.  
  
“I highly doubt that - but you know if you really wanted to _ride my ass_ that badly then you could simply _ask_ .” Came the very strained and inappropriate comment from Tony. He actually managed to get Stephen to budge a little with the efforts which only bolstered him.  
  
_God this was hot, he was so turned on - but he wanted to get back to the compound so badly._

"I _did_ rather make a suggestion along those lines _before_ . And for reasons of logical sense and trying to keep our business relationship running smoothly, you said no. _Remember_? So guess what we're going to do now?"

Stephen frowned a little as he pulled more firmly at the bands to drag the other man to the chair. "... dear friend, would you do the honours?" He said to the cloak and the thing seemed to hesitate briefly in protest before slinking its way to lift Tony off of his feet, making it easier to draw  the engineer in towards the chair.

And here Tony thought he was making some headway with his resistance - _guess not._  
  
As soon as he was plucked off of the ground he lost all traction and was immediately thrown into the seat Stephen had offered earlier. As soon as Tony was deposited into the chair the cloak immediately flew off, bands encircled the chair pulling his wrists together so they were bound together and pressed taught to his chest with his midsection so neither could he move his body to get up or his wrists to try and fight.  
  
Tony had to admit, deep down he was _enjoying this,_ but for some reason he just couldn’t get into it as much as he really just wanted to be back at the compound with Happy right now. Every bone and feeling in his body ached for it so badly - especially in his _groin_ .  
  
“Let me go Strange, this is getting ridiculous.” He barked, looking at him and trying to move from his seat - which was a futile effort.  
  
But it wasn’t Tony’s style to just sit idle.

"If you'd stop _fighting me_ and just _accept_ that I'm _trying to help you_ then this wouldn't be so over the top, would it?" Stephen muttered a little as he observed the man, giving him a thorough once over before reaching to take the cup of tea.

"-but no, you have to be a _child_ about this, don't you? Can't make this easy on _anyone_ ."  
  
For a moment Stephen's carefully neutral expression leaned towards sad, but it was gone long before it could be remarked upon as Stephen crouched at the side of the chair, holding the teacup up and watching Tony carefully. "... _please_ Tony, just drink the tea?"  
  
“I can accept that you’re just trying to be a stick in the mud.” Tony’s mind was heavily addled by the toxins he’d inhaled into his body so not only was he defiant, but completely un-suggestable towards anything other than things pertaining to his sexual needs and interests.  
  
He simply stared Stephen down, lips pursed for a moment, eyes narrowed.  
  
“I’m enjoying this, it’s like having a version of viagra that _actually works_ .” He groaned the last part softly eyes trailing down to his lap as if he’d somehow be able to _magically get off_. “So no, I will not be taking that medication, especially since you’ve kidnapped me and now it’s like you’re trying to drug me up. Which again - it would be hot, but time and place.” He frowned.

"You are a rather magnificent _pain in the ass_ , you know that?" Stephen sighed a little to himself, running his free hand into his hair. "I'll remember you didn't trust me to take care of you in the future. But in the meantime, as a _Doctor_ and as a _Master of the Mystic Arts_ ... I'm going to have to insist you take your medicine. As your _friend_ I'm sorry it's come to this."

He set the teacup down on the table beside the chair once more, drawing himself to his feet again and considering the bound man for just a moment. With only brief hesitation Stephen's knees moved to either side of Tony's legs on the chair, leaving him to hover over the man in the chair not unlike what Tony had done to Happy before.  
  
His free hand gently brushed at Tony's cheek. "... _but you're going to drink your medicine, Tony._ So open up."

 _What...? What was going on right now…_  
  
Tony had been about to open his mouth to protest again - and indeed he had but rather than being able to to let loose a string of protests and demands he felt Stephen’s lips over his own.  
  
He forced some sort of bitter liquid down his throat, which he conceded almost _too easily_ with the gesture. His lips stung, his body was hot and he couldn’t _be any more hard than he was now_ especially with the hand so gently placed upon his cheek, cupping his jaw with Stephen straddling his lap.

 _Not to mention being tied up as well..._  
  
With Stephen’s weight against his own - the sorcerer had to be more than aware of his _current state_ given their position and he felt himself melt against the crimson bonds keeping him restrained in the chair.  
  
Almost as if his brain had gone through some weird mental rewiring, his attention was wholly on Stephen at this moment and the feel of their bodies pressed flush together. Stephen’s knees on either side of his, the weight of his body on his lap and the sting of his lips on his own were overwhelming.  
  
He couldn’t turn any more scarlet and that had completely shut him up. He simply looked up at Stephen, mouth agape trying to register what had happened. Because while his mind was still occupied with Happy, that didn’t stop his true feelings from bubbling to the surface, that quiet, hidden fondness he held so dearly for the sorcerer.  
  
And it was beginning to manifest once again in accordance to the spores that had addled his mind.

A little smile settled on Stephen's features as he pulled away, stroking Tony's cheeks.  
  
"There," He cooed softly, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

The doctor's lips brushed briefly over Tony's forehead after and Stephen ran his hands lightly over Tony's jaw, the sides of his neck and shoulders before sighing quietly and pulling away to stand.

Tony was an absolute mess of limbs in the chair. He was still absolutely awestruck by the gesture and when Stephen pulled away there was something _seriously lacking_ .  
  
The warmth faded, the lips retreated and he felt so cold, longing for the other to just come back. And then the sweet thoughts faded from his mind as the spores did their job and all he could think of was Stephen seductively working his slacks down then riding him until exhaustion on that chair - _then_ , collapsing in a hot, sweaty, boneless mess against each other.  
  
_Ugh._  
  
Tony’s insides had been turned to caramel and his senses were so overstimulated, body hypersensitive to those lingering touches.

 _This was what he got for misbehaving?_ _  
_  
If one thing was for sure, Happy was the last thing on his mind and his feelings about Stephen were front and center in full bloom now.  
  
"Now then. Would you like to watch a movie or TV, or read a book or something for a little bit?"  
  
Tony thought a moment on the question and his answer came out like a pathetic and undignified whine.  
  
“You...” He started trailing off. “Come back and ride me Stephen.” He hissed softly, he was still starstruck from the kiss - he wanted more. So much more!

"Mmmm, _me_ is it?" Stephen chuckled briefly, perching himself at the end of the bed near Tony and watching him. "You _very_ specifically stated earlier that having me tie you down and fuck you wasn't what you were interested in. Why the sudden change of heart, I wonder?"  
  
The teasing in his tone subsided and the sorcerer shrugged. "In any case, the answer's no. You can't exactly consent; you're not of sound mind. So, book? TV? What can we do to keep you entertained for the next few hours?"

“I guess I could do TV, not much for reading - do I at least get to cuddle?” It came out almost as a whine but the demand felt genuine. And this wasn’t just desperation for bodily contact, but for contact from _Stephen specifically._ _  
_  
“I won’t try to run off anymore, you have my word on that.” And it was true when his attention was completely focused on the man in the room rather than the man in upstate New York.  
  
Tony slumped against this restraints in the chair, there was a palpable shift of tone in the room since he’d first been fixated on Happy - now he was easy to relinquish his desires for the other man. As open as Tony was, due to his state though, no words could really be taken as truth.

Stephen remained quiet for a long few moments looking thoughtful before rising to his feet once again and dismissing the bands that held him in place. The cloak bundled around him some, though it wasn't attempting to restrain him anymore as Stephen nodded a little and waved his hand.  
  
"Both the TV and a seat big enough for more than one person are this way. Don't make me regret this, Tony. If you try and take off, I'll leave you bound until you're throwing up and not _able_ to go anywhere - and that won't be a fun time for either of us. And you'd devalue your word."  
  
Despite the ruckus, Tony was far from ashamed of his current aroused state - though that was obviously going nowhere given his now redirected and focused attentions. As the constraints on his wrists and body faded, he made no efforts to gun off. He meant what he said, especially considering where he wanted to be right now was - here, in this room with Stephen.  
  
Or at least wherever Stephen would end up being as if he’d imprinted on the poor engineer in his current state.  
  
Tony had been more than a little elated that Stephen was going to indulge his demands, he got up and moved over to Stephen. There was a sheepishness to his movements but he slipped in behind Stephen and snuck his arms around the Sorcerer’s front. It wasn’t beyond Tony to also lean his chin on Stephen’s shoulders and start to absently coil his fingers into the magus’ tunic. Given their position Stephen would be aware that Tony’s _state of mind_ hadn’t altered any.  
  
As horny as he was this was almost perfect - _almost.  
_  
"If you'd like to deal with _that_... I suppose I can give you a little bit of alone time before we do the whole tv thing. There's a shower if you'd like or... of course the bed is just here..." The hug had caught the sorcerer off guard, though he didn’t seem to be terribly upset about it as he ran his fingers over Tony's hands and arms, relaxing a little in the hold.

Some of Tony’s sense had already started to seep in to him from the dose. Not much, but just enough that he had some of his rational cognitive thinking back. That didn’t mean he would deny the feelings he had for Stephen, or want to be any less close to him.  
  
“No, I want to stay here… where you are…” He purred softly, rather than his hands predictably molesting the poor magus most of the engineer’s ministrations focused through Tony’s nose that brushed up against the back of Stephen’s head and nuzzled it’s way along the fine hairs atop his neck.  
  
“Otherwise I’d say bed - but I’d much prefer you join me if I’m going to be _letting myself go..._ ” The rest of that came out as a quiet groan and his hips absently pressed into the back of Stephen while his arms tightened.

The sorcerer couldn't quite conceal the shiver that ran through his body as Tony nosed at his neck, and he swallowed hard. His hands stilled in their places before he slowly worked to untangle himself - presumably before Tony got any more of his increasingly 'good' ideas.  
  
"Yeah no. That's not going to happen today, Tony. The TV room is this way." His voice sounded odd when he responded - a little strangled and husky.

“Killjoy,” He murmured. Tony let out a long sigh.

He didn’t want to let Stephen go.

It took some prying but eventually he allowed his hands to be removed from the sorcerer before following after him, curling into the cloak around his shoulders with two hands pulling the edges over around his arms more. In turn he received a reassuring squeeze form it.  
  
_God this was killing him._  
  
His appetite was just as bad as earlier minus the forcing himself on the other. It might have been the power dynamic here that made it so Tony wasn’t completely all over the wizard because unlike Happy, _Stephen didn’t work for him_ and Stephen could and _would_ shoot him down if things got out of hand. He’d already demonstrated he was quite capable of wrangling him down and _literally hog tying him to a chair_ .  
  
He padded after Stephen, quietly skulking behind him with the cloak as his only physical comfort. Once they were there he reluctantly took a seat in the corner of the couch and half expectantly - and rather hopefully - waited for Stephen to choose his spot, hoping he’d sit back down in his lap or at least next to him where he could reel him in.

Stephen rolled his eyes a little at the other's pouting, sitting himself beside Tony on the couch near enough for their thighs to touch before reaching out to take his hand gently.

"I didn't say 'no, never,' Tony. I just need to know things are happening because they're things you _want_ and to be able to properly discuss the context of whatever we're doing." He paused for a moment before lifting the hand to kiss it, running a thumb over his hand gently. "But we'll only have that discussion when you're well again, and _if_ it's a conversation you still want to have at that point."  
  
Everything had kind of faded out around them when Stephen had picked up his hand and kissed it - of all the times he’d known Stephen he had never known him to do something like that.  
  
_Ever._  
  
His hand still stung from the kiss, skin tingling softly as it left a ghostly imprint on the top of his hand. It was cool and lingering and something that very much stood out at the moment with his heated disposition.  
  
Tony always made a lot of noise, it was just the type of person he was, but Stephen was one of the first few people that actually didn’t cover their ears to tune him out. No doubt he was an obnoxious flirt most of the time with all of his swagger, most people played it off as his personality - so much so it was hard to tell when it was actually genuine.  
  
Stephen seemed to return that interest to a degree, as he’d known the magus to always be so formal and lacking in the feels department in favor of maintaining professional and withdrawn persona. Tony finally managed to rip himself from the stupor and respond, seriously masking an anxious disposition behind a confident facade.  
  
“I’ll hold you to it doc...” And the grin returned, fingers curled around Stephen’s to hold his hand. The moment was much too delicate to make an advance again on him - so he simply settled for leaning back. It was something he actually really wanted and he’d practice a degree self-control in order to obtain it.  
  
Lowering the hand again, Stephen didn't release it as he summoned the remote for the television that looked like it was from the early 90's, offering the controller to Tony. "I have no idea what you'd be interested in watching, so go crazy. Or we can talk, if you'd prefer." He offered Tony a slightly amused smile.  
  
“I wasn’t much for black-and-white television,” He eyed the old thing, “-so, talking. My life is enough of show to really care about watching them.”

"Black and--? Stark, I know you function on the latest cutting edge technology and that you're a leader in _creating_ some of that technology, but honestly. The TV has colour." Stephen muttered a bit, leaning back into the couch some before adjusting and settling his gaze on Tony.  
  
“I just kind of assumed, that thing looks like a dinosaur - like something you pulled out of the tar pits, or dug up with a knife and chisel.” He stared blankly at the old tube-television. His eyes kept flicking idly from the screen as he spoke to Stephen.

Still restless, oh so very restless.

It was taking every _bone_ in his poor little body not to jump the sorcerer sitting next to him. His blank stare and strained thoughts manifested with a light squeeze, a hefty exhale and small fidget of his leg as he _pressed in a little closer to Stephen._

"It's from the 2000’s. Don't ask me when, I don't know technology _that_ well, but at some point in the 2000’s. It came with the Sanctum." Stephen rolled his eyes, dismissing the subject of the TV’s age.  
  
"The creature that caused all of this is now safely back where it belongs, just so you know. Your suit is going to need some fairly intensive decontamination I imagine, though if you released _all_ of the spores then by the time you get home I doubt there'll be much concern about your workshop... or wherever it is that you got doused."  
  
“What were you even doing with something like that? Did you over water your flower pot with some sort of magic growing-steroid? What exactly did it do, and why did it affect the both of us so _intensely_ …?” And then his thoughts were on later - how he really wasn’t looking forward to puking his guts out over a toilet like the night he’d hosted Stephen.  
  
That was a good night, he had to admit. He remembered it vividly now that he started to focus on it wondering what would have happened if he’d indulged the sorcerer’s _requests_ at the time.  
  
Stephen offered a gentle squeeze of the other's hand, his thumb still brushing over the back of Tony's as he considered the query.

"It affects anyone who inhales it’s spores with the same intensity. It's a non-aggressive creature - not necessarily not _dangerous_ , but it doesn't go out of its way to attack. _Someone_ thought it would be a good idea to summon the poor thing in Manhattan and it got scared. Pulled away from its home, its family, and probably everything else it knew. It lashed out to defend itself.  
  
"I was able to lure it back to the Sanctum at least where we have the tools to take care of it but... Like I said, trapping an injured cat. It was scared, particularly when you electrocuted it. It likely assumed it was in mortal danger, and resorted to the only defense mechanism it had left. Many of the creatures it's usually in danger from are pack-creatures. Imagine releasing a highly effective aphrodisiac into a pack...? There's suddenly something more important than attacking, and it's a pressing urge that's remarkably challenging to ignore. A last ditch effort to protect itself."

“Huh… so the new and improved form of viagra, it honestly makes me wonder what other ‘non-threatening’ creatures you keep in here.” Tony played with Stephen’s trembling hand, lightly curling his fingers into his palm and fanning them out before weaving his fingers very delicately into the spaces between Stephen’s.  
  
The engineer could appreciate the soft gesture, this meant something to him. Despite the fuss, none of his proposals had entirely been shot down - more postponed, until they could at least talk about things in a more detailed manner. To him Stephen was interested, but as the medicine seeped in the logic returned and it made sense to Tony - as much as he didn’t want to agree with it.  
  
He had some serious feelings for this man, and it was hard to imagine that this would be among the few relationships that would start without sex being their first act of engagement.  
  
_Those tended to be the good ones._  
  
“Hey - you know what would be a good practical joke? Is if we took that stuff and sprayed it on some person we don’t like, a villain - just wait and see what happens.”

"Yes, well it would seem that others had a similar idea," Stephen chuckled a little to himself as he looked at Tony's hand in his. Leaving their hands threaded together the sorcerer turned his gaze away from it entirely with a shrug. "As to what I keep in the Sanctum, that's _my_ business, isn't it? As long as it _stays_ in the Sanctum," Stephen sighed.  
  
"Regardless, I don't keep things in the Sanctum longer than necessary. Not things that are capable of getting up and walking out on their own. Or flying. Or otherwise exiting the building. Plenty of the relics in the Sanctum are dangerous in the wrong hands - some are even capable of bending the will of those around them towards the purposes of the relic which is why they are kept here, and why Wong was so annoyed about my bringing the Akravire back to the Sanctum. Honestly he's probably right. But the containment is heavy and awkward and trying to get it anywhere else was going to be an expenditure of effort that seemed unnecessary when I figured I could just bring it here, put it to sleep and be done with it..."  
  
Stephen's nose wrinkled and he ran his free hand into his hair.

"Naturally, that didn't go as planned."

“True, but when it gets out of the Sanctum, or if Wong thinks it’s going to get out - it becomes _my_ business.” Tony kept his gaze fixed on Stephen’s face, his eyes traced over his features like the details on a finely crafted sculpture. His chiseled jaw, his very effeminate features which contrasted those masculine qualities, the silver threads of hair that swooped in behind his ears down to his delicately and meticulously manicured beard.  
  
This may have just been the first time Tony had a moment to really appreciate the other’s company and the fact that their hands were entwined with one another held a certain gravity over their situation.  
  
This would have been the perfect moment if he wasn’t so _bothered right now_.

"And when it _becomes_ your business you'll be notified, I assure you. But there's no reason for you to fret over things you don't know or understand until they're a threat for some reason. For the most part the only reason Wong considered the Akravire a threat was because of the _relics_ it could have damaged..."  
  
“Uh, I beg to differ about you keeping things that could get up and walk away, or fly.” Of course he was referring to himself and he expected Stephen to look back over with an air of irritability if he saw the grin Tony had plastered on his dumb mug. “You handled that thing more delicately than you did me!” He continued to tease.  
  
Stephen’s eyes flicked to Tony, before he turned his head to follow his gaze on finding the man watching him so intently.

"As I said, I don't keep them longer than _necessary_ . When the spores are out of your system and you're well again, you can go home. No problem. Meanwhile, you're going to stay put even if it means I have to _make you_ . I _am_ sorry for that but I don't know how much further you would've taken things with Happy, and I'm confident that it was in _both_ of your best interests to have you removed from the situation to protect your friendship with him."

“Oh please continue, do tell me the lengths you would go to keep me here if it wasn’t tying me down to the chair with your kinky red rope-spells - what could possibly beat being swaddled like an infant in that cloak of yours too?” He inquired, there was a hint of playfulness to his tone which meant he was starting to get a little riled up again. He felt the corner of the cloak pap him on the cheek after that comment.  
  
“I’m not allowed to _indulge_ myself at the moment the way _I want_ so please, indulge the mind.” He trailed off softly, though making no more moves to advance on Stephen _lest he lose his hand-holding privileges_ .  
  
He very much wanted to keep holding Stephen’s hand.

The sorcerer’s hand almost dwarfed his with his very lengthy digits and he found the soft little tremors to be really… _cute._ He’d seen Stephen’s hands shake while casting certain spells but never had he gotten a chance quite like this where he got to actually hold it.  
  
“As for Happy, trust me when I say that’s not the worst he’s been through with me.” He trailed off.

"Do you really think me talking about that kind of thing is _wise_ with you already struggling with rampant hormones, Tony?" The doctor inquired as his lips twitched into a small smirk.

"I'm plenty confident that between the cloak and the bands of Cyttorak I could keep you in one place as long as necessary. Getting medicine into you was the more challenging part, but that worked out just fine..." Stephen sighed softly and turned his gaze to the ceiling.

"The cloak restrained me to keep me from going to you the other night as well," He admitted after a moment of quiet. "I couldn't stand it. I knew what it was and I knew I needed to leave you out of it or risk our friendship - we saw how well _that_ worked out, my apologies - but I also knew there was no way I was going to be able to sleep in the state I'd been in. So the cloak... helped."

“Helped…” Tony parroted as if the information needed to register. “Wait so you and the cloak-?” He held up a finger that kind of just bounced between the sentient piece of outerwear and it’s master.

“You-” He furrowed his brow as he connected the dots in his head and it was like watching the numbers of a slot machine lineup in order the way the look of realization had come to Tony’s face.  
  
And then thinking about the _what-if’s_ if Stephen had thrown caution to the wind.  
  
"Ok that's hot... Man I would’ve loved to have been there to watch that..." Tony bit his lip and kind of threw his face into the backrest of the sofa and groaned into it as another wave of arousal spiked in the pit of his gut and just made things all the worse once again. By this point he was in full control of his body, there were less of an instinctual drive to do things impulsively. 

"Yeah. It helped... a little. It wasn't _you_ and the feeling of it touching me wasn't the same as the feeling I got when _you_ touched me. And I _was_ thinking of you the whole time because... that's just how it is, apparently," Stephen mumbled, his head turning away as the slightest flush of heat crept into his face.

Trust Strange to openly confess about feelings yet at the same time make it so medical it doesn’t sound as sincere.  
  
“You know, maybe that medicine isn’t working the greatest.” Tony looked back at Stephen. “I might need some more…”  
  
Stephen burst into soft laughter, turning to meet Tony's eyes again and squeezing his hand gently. " _Oh_ ? Are you going to drink it yourself this time?" His brows raised in question.  
  
"If you're hungry, or you want something to drink... I can see about getting something for you."

That laughter was like music, it turned his insides soft, thick and warm in his ears.  
  
“I’m not hungry - at least not for food.” Stephen walked right into that one. “And I think there might be a little medicine left… Here!” He took the sudden onset bashfulness on the other’s part as a sign, along with the erotic detailing and reminiscing as a green-light to lean in and grab Stephen by the collar and yank him towards him.  
  
He did unfortunately have to let go of his hand - but for something much better. As much as he wanted to just crush their forms together and rub up against him - he handled it rather gentlemanly and boyishly stole a quick kiss. Lips connecting, head tilted he caught the sorcerer when he was least expecting and was gone before the other could register the advance, falling back into the cushions of the couch again.  
  
“Mm - nah, I didn’t find any, I just had to check though.”

Stephen was quick to retreat across the couch when Tony let go, watching Tony wide-eyed but wary from his spot. After a moment he slouched in his spot, running his hand over his face and into his hair and tugging a bit at the strands, taking deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth to relax.  
  
"That... wasn't what I meant..." Stephen released his hold on his hair and sunk his hands into his lap to stare at them instead. "... I'm sorry."

Tony watched him. He was like a scared animal backed into a corner. _This wasn’t the response he’d anticipated_ and he could only sit there and tilt his head almost dog-like in response.

Tony was confident enough at this point to know that Stephen was interested and putting two-and-two together, he figured the man was just so pent up and cut-off from his emotional side. Go figure this would be the type of response that would echo in the wake of a quick stunt like that.  
  
“So, I sneak up and kiss you square on the lips, startle you half to death from what it looks like… and then you turn around and apologize?” Tony furrowed his brow, it didn’t quite make sense with that type of verbal reaction afterwards.  
  
“What’s eating you Steph? Cause I seriously thought we had something going right there - I’m not blind, and you know I’m definitely not an idiot - I can pick up social cues...” He trailed off, the confidence only wavering slightly from his voice.

"I apologize because clearly I was giving you the wrong impression. Tony, _you're not in your right of mind_ . I don't _know_ the best way to help you, but it's _not_ by indulging you clearly, nor by indulging _myself_ . So we're going to _both_ behave ourselves like _friends_ . Because yeah, _big surprise_ to absolutely **_no one_ ** but _I like you_ Tony, and this isn't _exactly_ how I wanted to discuss that but there it is. I like you. And there's a line I'm _not_ going to cross." It came out all in a rush and Stephen groaned to himself as he shook his head a bit.  
  
"I apologize because I've _already_ gone further past that line than I meant to."

“You know there’s a reason why my attentions immediately diverted to you when you kissed me - and it wasn’t simply because you were there to give me attention.” Tony started softly, keeping his distance and giving Stephen room to breath.  
  
“I’ve always found you attractive Stephen, hot as hell - but the reason I didn’t do anything the last time was out of respect for that… and you. I didn’t want to blow it.” His mind was almost his again. “You can take it as you will, chalk all of this up to some crazy alien aphrodisiac but I can tell you nothing’s going to change after I finish vomiting my guts out…” He trailed off, that grin turning into a soft smile.  
  
“If I really had my way due to just being a horny dog - I would have bent you over and fucked the hell out of you that other night.” Naturally, Tony would be shameless in his use of colloquial vernacular...

"I _don't_ know, Tony. And I _can't_ know. Because we didn't get the chance to really _talk_ about things afterwards with clear heads, did we? And that's on _me_ and I assure you I have a lot of regrets about that right now. But regardless, the _least_ I can do is show you the same respect you showed me regardless of your reasoning."  
  
The sorcerer leaned back in his seat finally, lifting his eyes to look at Tony again.

"And I've already done more to you than I should have in the name of making sure you took that medicine. So we're going to _have to_ have a talk about all of this at some point when you're well and I certainly won't fault you if you wind up pissed off. If you're not pissed off and this is all... meaningful that way... then we can work _that_ out when we're _both_ of sound mind. Because I _won't_ risk our friendship or your _trust_ by taking advantage of you in this situation."

Tony sighed and leaned back into the couch, there was no way he was going to plead his case in this situation with Stephen completely disregarding him like this, so he simply leaned in on his side and curled into a ball, folding his arms over his chest.  
  
“Yeah, yeah…” He said rather wearily and leaned into the armrest, eyes lazily watching the television. He’d deal with his situation and leave Stephen alone. He was content to think otherwise and yes - it was frustrating, because he liked him and Tony was incredibly impatient. All he had to look forward to now was an awfully upset stomach and probably the worst case of blue-balls ever.  
  
But right now it felt like there was an unnecessary fall here in the form of some stupid mutant spore ailment.

"Tony..." Stephen sighed softly and directed the cloak to lay gently over Tony. Picking up a book of his own, the sorcerer settled into the couch to attempt to read. "If you want space for your legs, let me know and I'll move."

Tony curled his fingers into the fabric of the cloak and pulled it in against him like a security blanket. The cool silken underside felt nice on his arms and it had a comforting weight to it - it also very much smelled of Stephen, which was nice.  
  
Everything sucked right now, and there was no way around it. A lot of things he wanted to do and say and it was all entirely out of his control, and that frustrated him to the nth degree.  
  
“No I’m good, trust me I’m used to sleeping in the smallest and most awkward places.” He husked softly from under the cloak, it’s collar pulled right up to his cheeks. Despite the situation, he could do what was possible and simply make the best of it  
  
And even being in the other’s company took some bite off of the situation.

"It's a couch. It doesn't have to be small _or_ awkward… You look like a pill bug and as cute as that is... I'd still _like_ to make sure you're comfortable." Stephen closed the book over to look at the man once again, carefully. 

“-The cutest damn pill bug you’ve ever seen.” He shot back in retaliation with a murmur and then closed his eyes.  
  
He had nothing more to say and let the silence take over, It wasn’t awkward just - as much as he enjoyed the sweet comment about being curled into a ball there wasn’t much he could say back.  
  
Tony’s breathing evened out and he slowly began to doze off, by some miracle managing to ignore the awful tingling ache in his groin. It may have helped that the embrace of the cloak around him was actually incredibly comforting too. His ears picked up on the soft noise of the low-volume television and it lulled him off to sleep softly.

 

* * *

 

 

Stephen didn't bother to turn off the television in the time that passed, though after Wong came and had a quiet conversation with Stephen on the subject of the sleeping man without Tony waking, the sorcerer and his cloak managed to rearrange the couch to make sure Tony was as comfortable as he could be.

Stephen's fingers brushed absently through the man's hair as he slept, having settled Tony's head in his lap as he'd wanted to prior, equipped with a bowl in case Tony woke quite suddenly with a need to be sick. Wong had been kind enough to make him a fresh pot of tea, and between that and his book the sorcerer was easily able to keep himself entertained for a few hours.

He felt a certain contentedness at the notion of something as simple and domestic as petting the brunette’s hair while he slept, even knowing that eventually the man would wake and require caring for. Dealing with vomiting patients was something he was used to as a matter of duty, but somehow he got the impression that taking care of Tony - while being an utter chore, based on the childishness Tony _had_ displayed - would feel oddly rewarding. Being able to stay with him and comfort him when he felt bad and nursing him back to health was a thought that warmed his heart.  
  
He caught himself staring at the man in his lap, watching the play of grey and chestnut running through his fingers and he wrinkled his nose a little as he sighed. He liked Tony far more than he wanted to admit and the idea that Tony in his right mind would be angry with him or disappointed in him didn't sit well. Stephen closed his eyes firmly as he rested his head against the back of the couch to stare at the ceiling.  
  
There was no point worrying about it until they got there. Maybe Tony hadn't entirely been speaking under influence.

Maybe there _was_ something.

“Stephen?” Tony rasped softly from under the cloak, eyes squinting - blinking in the dark of the room. He looked ready to ask more until an awful wave of nausea overtook him causing him to jolt upwards and cradle his poor sensitive stomach.  
  
“Fuuuck - toilet, where?” He groaned apparent that whatever was in his stomach wanting to be _outside of his stomach_.

"Hey," Stephen greeted softly as he heard the other speak, though he was plenty prepared for what followed as he let his hand fall away and set the book down to grab a bowl for Tony. "Here... take this, we'll get you to the bathroom..."  
  
Quickly getting to his feet, Stephen opened a portal to the bathroom, before reaching to guide the engineer towards the toilet with gentle insistence.

"This way..." A towel folded itself and settled on the floor in front of the toilet - Stephen remembered how much his own knees had hurt and aimed to minimize Tony's discomfort, though he knew to a point there was only so much he could do. With the bowl in hand, Tony stumbled on through the portal, leaning up against Stephen for support as his stomach rolled in protest. It was like clockwork - the towel had set and his knees buckled and gravity did the rest of the work.

The water ran and Stephen released Tony only briefly to fill the cup before placing it near the toilet to be more easily accessible to the brunette, before returning to stroke his back lightly.

Tony roughly let the bowl down on the tiled floor where it spun and teetered before settling still. His hands grabbed onto the side of the toilet seat and Tony crumpled against it.  
  
"Let it all out of your system, okay? I know this feels awful, but once it's all dealt with the spores should be out of your system enough that your body will deal with processing the rest of it. So this is the hard part. But I'm here, and if you need anything just ask..."  
  
There wasn’t much in his stomach, he clearly hadn’t eaten today and Stephen could only imagine it was painful as the engineer dry heaved into the toilet. His eyes watered as he stuck his neck out to make sure he got everything into the toilet. It wasn’t a very pretty sight and Stephen recalled the conflict that had raged through his body and mind when he’d been in a similar state.  
  
Tony’s posture disintegrated over the porcelain rim and after a series of awful and painful dry heaves, he finally started to regurgitate bile. It stung like all hell and tears sprung to Tony’s eyes from the stress on his chest and acid in his throat. He reached blindly for the glass of water he surely knew Stephen had for him to drink.

Remaining close Stephen ran his hand over Tony's back in long, slow strokes as he watched the other carefully and did what he could to take silent cues from the man. So the moment Tony reached for the water, Stephen was swift to grab it for him, fingers brushing over Tony's as he carefully pressed the glass into his hand.  
  
"Take small sips for now. I know it might be tempting to try and have a bunch of it, but it's only going to make you feel sick again. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Came the sorcerer's quiet reassurances as though the hand on Tony's back wasn't enough assurance of that fact. 

Tony clutched the glass in his hand, he took a gulp of water and swished it around in his mouth to get the disgusting taste of bile out. Immediately he spat it down into the toilet, reaching for the handle to flush it as he leaned back, head sunken in defeat and leaning into the arm placed firmly on his backside. Thankfully the feeling of needing to heave seemed to have faded.  
  
He didn't know whether Tony would want to stay long enough to be fully nursed to health or if he'd have a desire to get the hell out of there, but it didn't stop him from quickly running through the contents of the cupboard in his head. He was certain he could heat up some chicken broth without taking too much time, as well as some left over jello he'd made for himself the other day, and he was fairly certain they had applesauce, rice and soda crackers at the least... it wasn't glamorous, but it wouldn't upset the man's stomach any either.  
  
As much as he wanted to offer the other assurances of food and care, he couldn't be certain Tony would want to stay for it and the last thing he wanted to do was make Tony feel like he was stuck at the Sanctum. Once the man was finished throwing up, he'd be perfectly free to leave whether Stephen liked it or not.

  
“Thanks Steph...” He rasped, throat and vocals affected by the acidic residue. His body hadn’t quite recuperated so his movements were shaky and sluggish, still fatigued and in pain from both the medicine and his body’s descent from its earlier _high_ .  
  
Tony lifted an arm to wipe at his eyes and then started to draw water in from the lip of the glass, slowly sipping at it, taking breaks to catch his breath and then sipping at it again. Eyes red, he reached for the nearest towel hanging on the wall and pressed his face into it. He sat there quietly, shivering, body now dehydrated from the outflux - it was back to sleep for him.  
  
“God that fucking sucks.” He groaned into the towel weakly attempting to get up and head to the sink. He wanted to wash his hands now.

"Yes, usually. I'm sorry you had to go through all that." As Tony stood, Stephen's hand fell away from its spot on his back and the sorcerer slowly pulled himself to his feet - near enough to catch Tony if he needed it, but far enough not to crowd Tony in case he needed his space. He watched Tony with concern but kept a little out of arm's reach as he weighed his options, carefully choosing his words.  
  
"With the spores out of your system, you're free to return to the compound whenever you like. That said, I'd like to keep an eye on you until you're feeling well again - at least well enough to be eating solid foods. Your stomach is going to be sensitive to begin with, but if you'd prefer to be home I can write out some instructions to make sure you're taken care of properly. On the other hand," he hesitated for a moment, "If you'd like to stay a little while, there's a guest room still prepared for you and I'd _prefer_ to see you well again before I send you home."

Tony listened to Stephen’s drawn out offer and snorted weakly in amusement, faucet running as he washed his hands and face with soap and water. Rinsing his mouth out one more time he turned around - and rather than going for the towel, he flayed his fingers out and flicked a little water in Stephen’s face teasingly before wiping them on his own clothes.  
  
Stephen flinched back in surprise at the spray of water in his face, reaching up to wipe at the droplets that dripped down his face as he leveled a flat look at Tony for the action and in an attempt to mask his confusion at Tony's laughter.  
  
“You know the idea of being doted on by you sounds a lot more appealing than going back to the compound and spending the rest of the day in bed, alone.” His voice was cracked and hoarse still and he offered a weak smile to Stephen after that. “If a professional medical opinion suggests I should stick around, then I can’t really argue with that…” He slumped against the sink. “Lead the way…”

Stephen’s unimpressed expression was tempered with a certain softness in his tone and body language despite himself. "If you're looking for doting, you've come to the wrong doctor."  
  
_It was a lie._ Stephen knew it was a lie even before he spoke it. If Tony was going to let him dote, then Tony was going to learn what it meant to have a skilled doctor attentive to his needs. Without saying more, Stephen took a couple of steps forward before glancing at Tony briefly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he considered the best course of action, before lifting his hands to create a portal to the room. There may not have been a rush on getting there as much so in getting Tony to the bathroom. But he was fairly confident that based on the way Tony had taken to moving it would be easier on him in the route to the bed was shorter.  
  
"Do you need a hand getting to the bed? Or would you prefer the chair? You slept fairly soundly for a while there, so if you'd rather I gathered something to keep you entertained... one of your tablets or something, perhaps?"

“It depends, are you going to drop me off in that room and leave me alone? Because if that’s the case I’d take passing out on the couch if it meant I get some company.” Tony’s head snapped between Stephen and the portal in front of him.

Stephen paused as he considered Tony's response, surprised again, confused, but also somewhat reassured. So far Tony was showing no interest in getting away from him.

That had to be a good sign, right?

"I'd even take the cloak over an actual blanket. I was pretty comfortable before my stomach starter churning and I had to basically purge my guts.” Tony remained still, apparently not wanting to take a step forward until he understood the environment he was going to be set in.  
  
"The only reasons I would have to leave you alone would be to gather things to make your stay more comfortable, Tony. I'm not intending on leaving you alone while you're feeling awful, but I imagine it'll be a little bit before you're ready for solid foods or heading home so I figured you'd like _something_ to do. Unless laying around idly is more your style when you're feeling sick. I brought you here to take care of you, and I mean to do that to the best of my abilities."

“Third date, technically, you even want to bring me dinner.” Tony blurted out with a weak laugh. “It’s a little rude to not give someone your undivided attention, especially since _I’ll have yours_ .” He finished off the rest of his glass of water and it seemed to help clear him up some.  
  
“I may be a dog, but can also be quite the gentleman.” The engineer said softly. “And I haven’t forgotten Steph. Just because I was all hazy and hopped up on meds doesn’t mean my opinion about you has changed over the past few hours.”

Finally Tony stepped through the portal ahead of Stephen into the dim, rustic looking room. He sat himself down on the edge of the bed and laid down with a soft groan.  
  
"If you consider these dates, then I'm concerned about your standards," Stephen sighed in response, watching the other finish his water. "And I certainly didn't think you sleeping was rude in the slightest. You're still unwell, your body is fatigued and nutrient deprived. The BRAT diet isn't exactly what I would consider a good 'date' dinner." Though for a moment he smiled to himself at how aptly named the diet felt given his situation and Tony's prior behaviours.

Tony _was_ a brat, there was no doubt about that.  
  
Following Tony through the portal and allowing it to close, Stephen pulled a chair up beside the guest bed and made certain to settle a cup of not-quite-clear liquid on the bedside table before taking a seat, quiet as he contemplated the man's words.

"So as a _gentleman_ you're trying to inform me of what, precisely? You've said a whole lot over the past day and we have a lot to talk about, so if this is what you want to do with the time we spend making sure you're well again... we can have this talk now. But you're going to need to be more specific."  
  
A lot of things were different. Especially if Tony remembered everything clearly. Stephen had basically outright confessed his attraction to Tony, had climbed into his lap and kissed him with only the barest of hesitation after _tying him to a chair_ \- how those things alone wouldn't have changed Tony's opinion, he didn't know. He'd accept it, sure, fine. If Tony had enjoyed his attentions, _great_ ! But the last few hours had been fairly sexually charged - hell, their last two encounters had been pretty sexually charged for both of them if Tony's confessions were to be believed - so there were going to be things that needed _ironing_ out.

“I was referring to the fact that you offered to grab something to ‘keep me occupied’ like I’m some restless infant that needs a soother.” Tony set that one up for Stephen on purpose, the sorcerer realized after a moment. As usual it seemed he just liked to walk right into them as if he enjoyed the soft jesting and scolding.  
  
“You know how it’s impolite to be on your phone at the dinner table?” He continued softly, petting the spot in front of him and inviting Stephen to come sit closer to him while he propped himself up on his elbow on the pillow so he could give Stephen his attention.  
  
“Come,” he rasped softly, expecting Stephen to join him. “Let’s have this little talk of ours, you’ve been building up the suspense on me this entire time.” He jested, clearing his throat again as his voice scratched a bit.

"I respect that you're a busy man who likely has dozens of projects on the go at any given time. I was trying to offer to let you deal with those in case any of them were time-sensitive without prying." Stephen considered the bed for a moment before pulling the chair closer instead and sitting on it to watch Tony with rapt attention. "And no, I don't know how that's impolite. Is that an issue you commonly run into?" The sorcerer smiled softly with a hint of teasing.  
  
Leaning back into the chair Stephen closed his eyes for a moment thoughtfully. Where to even start...? "Plus side, if you remember most of the day then I don't need to repeat myself too much, but that doesn't mean there aren't things I _should_ repeat, I suppose." His eyes opened again after a moment to focus on Tony.  
  
"So first and foremost I _am_ sorry for taking advantage of your state to get the medicine in you. It wasn't appropriate behaviour in the slightest, especially after you were so considerate of my condition the other night. I won't insult your intelligence by saying I didn't kind of enjoy it..." He admitted, looking somehow less sheepish than he felt.  
  
"But I'm fairly certain that makes things _worse,_ not _better_ as far as my moral compass is concerned. I should have been protecting you in that state - in a state where _anyone_ might have been able to take advantage of you - but I didn't. I'm sure there were other solutions to the problem. When it comes down to it, I was feeling greedy and selfish after your little... _display_ with Happy." For as calm as his tone was as he spoke, his eyes slowly drifted away from Tony in the face of Stephen's shame at his own behaviour. "So I figured I should get _that_ out there..."

Tony slowly brought himself to a sitting position so he wouldn’t have to crane his neck to look up at Stephen.

“You don’t need to apologize for any of this - all in all I enjoyed myself. As much as it wasn’t so great to sit there aroused and have a piece of _meat_ dangled in front of me the entire time. Can’t say we would have gotten to this level of conversation if it hadn’t have happened - bless our lucky stars?” He scooted himself back against the headboard of the bed to try and make himself more comfortable.  
  
“So given that you understand that I remember all of it, then you are well aware of the things I said - and as much as you want to chalk it up to the state I was in. I can assure you they were genuine feelings. And it frustrated me to know you kept shrugging them off because of this ‘condition’ I was in.” He laughed softly, but that’s really all he could do - he didn’t want to argue, didn’t have the energy to do it. “Honestly wished you had taken advantage of me, because I’m more than fond of you Stephen...” He trailed off.

Reaching to the side table for the cup, the doctor offered it to Tony.

"Small sips. It's basically gatorade," He murmured softly, sitting forward in his seat as he did, though he considered Tony's words in silence for a moment otherwise. His heart and his libido both jumped rather at the same time and Stephen made an effort of crushing both feelings down in favour of logic as he shook his head a little.  
  
"Well, _first of all_ I'm not a piece of meat. But I'm flattered." _I think._ He kept that part to himself, however. "And I _am_ glad we're talking about this, it seems important. But given things you were saying to Happy earlier, you'll have to forgive my reluctance. Unless there's something I'm missing there." The sorcerer's shrug was absent, but it didn't stop him from wondering. A lot of things.  
  
Grey-blue eyes fixed on Tony's after a few moments as Tony's 'permission' continued to roil around in his head, however.

"Is that what you want? ... for me to take advantage of you? Just... tie you up and take what I want without concern for your well-being and desires?" His gaze intensified as he spoke and he carefully pulled himself back into his seat, taking a couple of slow, deep breaths.

“I know you’re trying to paint this in a bad light but you’re failing miserably, because I still think that’s hot. So, you could deny everything I said, or you could give me a chance and actually show you that I mean it.” Tony said, clearing his throat. “Give me a chance at least?”

"... in a bad light?" Stephen blinked a few times as he echoed Tony. "Tony, I just want to make sure I'm understanding you. I think it's _very_ fair to say our last two encounters have been utterly riddled with sexual tension. I _can't_ ignore your desires on the matter, but that doesn't mean that I won't play with consensual, non-consent if that's what you're interested in." Sighing softly to himself, Stephen took a few moments to gather his thoughts, before speaking again.  
  
"I'm not trying to dismiss your feelings. I just need to know what they _are_ . You've mentioned dates three times now in my memory. Is that because you _want_ a date? Or is it because you'd rather skip the date part...?" It wasn't as though Stephen himself hadn't pointedly suggested skipping the date and getting right to sex himself - but it wasn't for lack of wanting a date. He was just feeling horny as shit and sex was about all he _could_ think about in that moment.  
  
"I can go either way with this. But I want to know what you're expecting here... I want to know our expectations of anything else are mutually understood. I don't want to ruin our friendship and I don't know how many times I can _say_ that to make it clearer but I'll at least take the moment to point out - I don't _have_ many friends, so the friendships I do have... I want to cherish and nurture. _I don't want to fuck this up._ "

“For lack of better explanation - it’s called flirting Stephen, I was trying to be funny. Yes I want to date you.” He rolled his eyes with a soft sigh. “And I know - you’ve told me several times you don’t want to _ruin our friendship_ , it’s why I didn’t sleep with you when you were afflicted by the same ailment - the feelings were mutual because I really have a strong fondness for you.” He leaned his head back against the headboard and looking up at the ceiling.  
  
“You seem like a take-it-slow kind of guy and I have to admit the relationships I’ve started on sex alone haven’t really turned out to be the longest lasting ones. I consider you a friend near and dear Steph and I’m willing to work within your comfort zone if you want to take things a certain way...” Tony thought for a moment, his nose and the corners of his eyes crinkling with focus.  
  
“But you still owe me cuddles - and you’ve yet to deliver.” Tony tilted his head to the side to look at him. “You want to know what I want with this relationship? At least that!” Tony’s voice had a semi-serious tone to it, but the demand didn’t seem as serious.  
  
“I don’t really know how to explain myself any better than that, maybe I’m not used to the way you do things and I’m willing to adjust, I can be patient and I hope you can be patient with me.”

Watching Tony for a few moments, Stephen nodded lightly and rose to his feet before joining Tony on the bed, hesitating only briefly before wrapping an arm around Tony to pull the man against his chest.  
  
"I don't think I've taken things slowly a day in my life. That fact has been costly... and I'd really rather it didn't cost me _you_ ." His voice was quieter as he spoke, his fingers brushing over Tony's arm gently as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Tony's shoulder. It had cost him his hands, his career, and ultimately had led to heavy strain on his friendship with Christine. He had a lot of concerns over rushing things.  
  
"I haven't... dated in a long time. You should be forewarned I'm apparently a terrible boyfriend." Stephen murmured in his spot. "Selfish and inconsiderate. And kind of an asshole. And apparently a little bit petty and possessive when it comes to you. So I'll be counting on you to call me out if I'm being a complete dick. But I'll do my best and we'll see what we can do...?"

Tony scooted in and got himself comfortable against the magus. One arm placed gently around his midsection underneath the cloak, the second slowly coming up to rest across his chest over his shoulders.  
  
“Joke's on you bud, I’m in the same boat!” He croaked softly with a strained laugh, his index and middle finger gently massaging the area just above his collarbone while his other hand had curled tightly around his sides to hold him close. “I’m sure we can find a way to make it work - I’ve known worse couples...” He continued to joke softly, taking the moment to slowly lean the bridge of his nose down against the top of Stephen’s head and closing his eyes.

"Then we talk stuff out. Agreed? We've been able to have disagreements in the past and work through them..." Stephen pressed a gentle kiss to the engineer's shoulder with a hidden smile. "So I suppose we could be starting out worse off. And as I said... it's been a long time since I've dated - two potentially world-ending events, as well as a life-changing accident. But I don't want to get ahead of myself and just _assume_ my bad habits have improved in that time."  
  
His free hand rested atop the hand Tony had placed on his shoulder and Stephen sighed a little. "You deserve better than the asshole I've been in the past and I want to be the kind of man you deserve." The sorcerer chuckled softly, "That _might_ be impossible, though. You deserve to be with someone pretty incredible."

“Actually I think that’s quite why I was drawn to you...” He joked, his hand turning on it’s side to take Stephen’s in his own. “I like a man with some sass and a bark to match his bite. But I don’t think I deserve anymore than you do - that being said, I’m assuming you’ll at least want a proper date since you don’t seem to want to acknowledge the last three. Let me take you out for dinner, or something unconventional if that’s more up your alley?” He nudged Stephen softly, relaxing against the warm body pressed into his side.

"My bite is far worse than my bark," Stephen smiled a little. "Speak softly, carry big magic stick. You know, that whole deal." He wasn't fooling anyone. Stephen's bark was sharp and full of teeth, and he could be vicious when he wanted to. "But I'll do my best to only bite you in all the good ways."  
  
Adjusting his head, Stephen rested his cheek against Tony's shoulder next, curling his arm tighter around Tony's waist in a gentle squeeze.

"Oh I might be interested in unconventional. But dinner at least is a decent place to start, right? That's what... _normal_ people do?" There was a hint of teasing in his voice as he cuddled in against the smaller man, a whisper of a smile refusing to leave his lips.

“I’m sure we’ll find some compromise in there and two can play at that game - big things come in small packages you know.” Tony placed a gentle kiss on the side of Stephen’s head, lightly bringing the hand on his shoulder up to softly cradle his face.  
  
“I’m sure I can find something that both fits the criteria of dinner and unconventional…”

“Then I guess it’s a date.”


End file.
